Montana education board proposes removing licensure requirements for dual enrollment

Montana’s Board of Public Education unanimously approved a proposal to remove licensure requirements for college professors who want to teach dual enrollment courses this summer in a rulemaking hearing on Friday.

As it stands, professors have to get a K-12 teaching license through the Montana Office of Public Instruction to teach dual enrollment courses in the state, which is a requirement “unique” to Montana, according to the proposed rule change.

State Superintendent Susie Hedalen said during her remarks to the board on Thursday she was “thankful” the board and the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education were working together to remove “these barriers,” adding it’s come up during every school visit and in multiple phone calls per day.

“I had two superintendents, for example, in the last week that can't find upper level math teachers and are seeking other pathways or opportunities,” Hedalen said. “This might be a real relief for them.”

State statute currently allows postsecondary faculty to teach high school students for college credit, but does not extend that exception to dual credit courses, the proposal said.

The new rule states an instructor employed by the Montana University System or an accredited postsecondary institution would not be required to hold a teacher or specialist certificate when teaching a course offered to high school students for dual credit.

Postsecondary institutions would register with OPI every year before the dual enrollment courses start and identify which Montana school districts will participate. Colleges would also name the course title, code and credit value, as well as name the teachers participating.

The state superintendent would be required to provide the board with an annual report of the number of postsecondary faculty providing dual enrollment courses and the number of courses provided.

The proposal said the changes would “reduce barriers while maintaining appropriate safeguards and supporting expanded access to dual credit opportunities.”

Director of the School Administrators of Montana Rob Watson said during public comment that professors teaching dual enrollment courses should also be required to go through the fingerprinting requirements expected of teachers and volunteers at K-12 schools.

Currently, higher education instructors go through a name-based background check but not a fingerprint background check. That’s according to Watson, who said he’s getting back into teaching this summer at Montana State University and said the institution just did a name-based background check on him.

Fingerprint background checks tend to be more thorough.

Who pays for the fingerprint background checks may be a future discussion, Watson said.

“But I want the board to be aware of this issue, because in the fall, if we have a bunch of kids taking even online classes from instructors, those instructors need to have a fingerprint background check,” he said.

An OPI press release on Friday said faculty within the MUS have expressed interest in teaching dual enrollment but have had to spend time and money obtaining a K-12 teaching license first.

Commissioner of Higher Education Clayton Christian said in the release dual credit is growing across the state and saved families $11 million in college tuition last year alone.

“Today’s action removes an unnecessary barrier and will help expand access to high-quality dual credit opportunities for even more Montana students,” Christian said.

The hearing for the proposed rule change is set for Monday, June 29, at 10 a.m. To watch via webinar, go to https://mt-gov.zoom.us/j/84951503541. Submit comment by July 5 to Board of Public Education Director McCall Flynn at bpe@mt.gov.